Does anyone know of a trac bar or some kind of replacement set up that isnt junk? The last aftermarket "better designed" replacement lasted only 40000miles. thies are all high way miles. no turning without moving and what not. even the factory one lasted longer then that. Bulliet proof steering will make one but you have to supply a design for them to bend it to and make up some kind of mount for the driver side. Any insight would be greatly apprciated.
Chris

 

What aftermarket one did you try?
The only ones I have heard of are the 03 Upgrade Kit from solidsteel.ca which is a bracket then you have to supply the 03 trac bar which you can buy from any chrysler dealer, and the DTprofab adjustable trac bar kit which has everything included from dtprofab.com.

 

What I meant by a bracket is a whole kit, just check it out for yourself and give them a call.

 

I am looking into this for my 02 currently. There seem to be several options available, none of which are cheap. There is the DT track bar : http://www.dtprofab.com/dodge.htm
Or there is the Darin's track bar kit, which uses the track bar from an 03. http://www.solidsteel.ca/news.htm
Both are about the same price and seem to work quite well. I am not sure which route I am going to take yet.
Mishkaya

 

Just what exactly is the problem with the2nd gen trac bars? Dont mean to jack the thread but I keed reading about how bad these trac bars are and I thought I might need to know what the problem is since I have one with 55000 miles on it,

blake

 

The driver's side joint on the bar tends to wear quickly especially if you drive rough potholed roads. This results in drifting while driving down the road and pull to one side while braking.

I don't see how it gets much better than a lifetime free replacement warranty, that's why I buy Napa tracbars. They seem to last about twice as long as the stocker. No question at all when I traded a worn one for a new, twice.

 

The problem is they use a ball joint at the top driver side and it wears out because of the weight and stresses put on it. You can test it buy having someone look at the ball joint while someone else sits in the trruck and rocks the wheel. Chrystler says no more then 0.060inches of movement.
Hope that helps
Chris

 

yeah also if it goes bad. Your steering box takes all the stress insted of the trac bar. So check it out befor you trash that too
Chris

 

I've been running the same '03 tracbar on my '94 1 ton for 180,000 miles now, and it's still as tight as the day I put it on.
If you buy one and don't like it I'll refund your money, no questions asked.
Darin
www.solidsteel.ca

 

Captain you never did say which trac bar aftermarket fix you used? lukes link?

 

 

I am going to have to do something with my front end soon. My question is when you replace the tracbar and add this stabalizer kit should you replace the sterring box at the same time as well. Will the kit save the old steering box if it is already deteriorated?? My already causes the well known steering wheel clunk when accelerating so I know it is only a matter of time for it. If it should be replaced then what is a good aftermarket solution for that also?

RT

 

I installed it and love it. That was the easiest and most permanent fix I could find. It took me less than 1 hour to install.

Highly recommend it.

J-eh

 

Ditto to what Lil Dog said!!!

My stock 02 track bar was just starting to show wear...wasn't sure I would even see a difference; replaced it more as preventative maintenance.

But that last little bit of hands off, straight line tracking showed up after installing Darrin's kit with an 03 trackbar. I didn't even know it was missing.

Darrin's kit is very heavy duty - appears to be good for the life of the truck. The 03/04 trackbar is also heavy duty and an excellent, long term design. Cost me less than I was qouted for a DT Trackbar, which I later found out I could not used anyway, due to Mag Hy-Tec front cover.

Thanks Darrin for both your Mods..some of the best money I ever spent on my truck!

RJ

 

So did anyone replace the steering box when they added the kit or will it probably survive after this is added?? As I stated before I can already feel it in the wheel when I accelerate. Ii have read that this is a waraning sign of the steering box going out. If I replace it I only want to replace it once.

RT